How to Terminate Cat6 Shielded Cable with an RJ45 Connector

Terminating Cat6 shielded cable can be tricky with a standard RJ45 connector that is not pre-booted. In this detailed tutorial video, see the expert best practices for how to terminate Cat6 shielded cable with a standard RJ4 plug for a custom-length cable with full 360º shielding. For Cat 6 cable termination color code (568B), see the image here at 08:45.
Cat6 color code order: 1) White/Orange, 2) Orange Solid, 3) White/Green, 4) Blue Solid, 5) White/Blue, 6) Green Solid, 7) White/Brown, 8) Brown Solid
Skip to Chapters:
00:00 Intro, How to Terminate Cat6 Shielded Cable with a Standard RJ45 Connector
00:36 Slide up the 3:1 heat shrink tubing onto cable
00:54 Measure your cable jacket for stripping
01:17 Score and cut the jacket from the conductors
01:38 Shielding must be removed from the exposed wires
01:55 What to do with the drain wire on CAT6 cable termination
02:03 What to do with the clear binder material
02:21 Remove the center separator
03:05 Secure the drain wire with copper tape, and why for best practices
03:30 Placement of the copper tape
04:00 Untwist the pairs for CAT6 cable termination
04:37 Color code for 568B Cat6 cable
05:20 Cut any extra length on conductors to 1”
06:05 One piece RJ45 connector vs two piece RJ45 connector
06:13 How to slide on the load bar Cat6
06:58 How to trim conductors to 3/10” (appx. 7 cm)
07:32 Prepare the RJ45 connector
08:01 Crimp down the cable diameter to an oval in order to fit into the RJ45 connector
08:20 Seat the RJ45 connector properly to the color code
08:45 Cat6 color code order image showing visible copper ends
08:51 Bend the strain relief over
09:01 RJ45 crimping tool for Cat6 cable termination
09:33 Inspection and what to look for
09:49 Slide 3:1 heat shrink tubing up over the connector body
10:22 Carefully heat shrink tubing to secure the connector without compromising the conductors
10:52 Applying the heat to shrink tubing with heat gun
11:05 Fully terminated a Cat6 Shielded cable with an RJ45 connector with a solid 360 degree shield contact
🗽
* This is a Pro AV tutorial video as a video production portfolio piece created and produced by Angie Durbin in collaboration with Liberty AV Solutions.
Angie is a New York-based artist, calligrapher, instructor, and creative director.
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#Cat6CableTermination

[@Brandon-rc8mq]

I didn’t know I needed to watch this until I did.

[@syvekhezeiahjanebesidas7329]

same here! idkk why he use ez crimp tool,,, he dont have to cut at the end

[@jpvoodoo5522]

@@syvekhezeiahjanebesidas7329 , I concur. I've never done shielded. Something tells me it will be necessary in the future. I was impressed by how easy the new passthrough connectors are for UTP until I saw this with the load bar. This seems just as easy, doesn't require me to buy a new passthrough crimper and I get a better cable.

[@kenhuffmanjr9919]

@@syvekhezeiahjanebesidas7329 depends on the connector he uses. that connector didn't look like it would allow the conductors to protrude through the end of the connector.

[@z-man1763]

Novice here, looked at many videos before I found this one that actually makes sense and is so detailed. Great camera shots.

[@Mister6]

This is super refreshing after watching videos by electricians that obviously don't understand the cables they are making or the importance of maintaining the twists. Great job!

[@raulcaraza3568]

What the heck is this? This is a clinic! This is a play by play! This is what You Tube is all about! Right down to end inspection of the cable. What an electronic masterpiece you have done. 👍

[@ShainAndrews]

Place first pass of copper tape under the drain, then wrap over the top of the drain. Eliminates adhesive connectivity issues.

[@mrcomputersusa2876]

AND gives two surfaces for drain to contact, better than just one.

[@cheerbeerification]

I don't see how this helps as you are still crimping the collar over the second layer of tape which is covering the drain wire. Better way to do it is to ensure the collar is touching the drain wire itself. Many will choose to wrap the drain wire around the collar and then under and crimp on top of drain wire.

[@dalenassar9152]

I learned this when making shielding for HF: You want to have a section of the drain wire leaning on TOP of the Cu tape.

[@kevinkelleher4040]

I would use this for training but the background techno music is too annoying. Hard to keep ur attention on the speaker and understand him

[@AngieDurbinCreates]

@kevin kelleher thank you for the feedback! A few other people have said the same thing about the music, so I am keeping this in mind for future videos.

[@SuperWolfkin]

I've seen a lot of videos on networking and this is the first one to explain WHY most people use 568B instead of 568A

[@kwinzman]

Well it actually says that 568A is more advantageous. B is legacy for businesses that started B style wiring years ago.

[@danielsatko-]

i read that 568B is more resistant to HF interference

[@daniellecastellano9993]

@@danielsatko- NOT TRUE!

[@danielsatko-]

@@daniellecastellano9993 so give me link to page where is your opinion proved

[@Azsunes]

@@danielsatko- Can you link to where you read it...

[@junbabera]

Great! The most polished connection of CAT6 and RJ45 video I've ever seen.

[@Beevreeter]

Very thorough and meticulous work. Good job. I have seen RJ45 connectors with open ends so that the coloured pairs go right through the ends before crimping. This ensures excellent terminator seating, removes any measurement requirement for the stripped cables and reduces the chance of any error in cable order. After crimping the excess is simply snipped off with a side cutter.

[@MatthewHolevinski]

When you're an unfortunate soul like me who have put on a quintillion tips over many many years, you don't need to measure anything, it's all done by feel and sixth sense. I have a standing bet with myself if I were to ever lose my eyesight I could still terminate (color code correct) cable by feel alone.

[@cockspur2492]

Yep, used those connectors a lot. Quick tip, once you've pushed the wires through cut them straight and then withdraw the cable back into the connector a little. Saves any frayed ends or broken connectors.

[@mynamedoesnotmatter737]

All that, and allows for crosstalk between the conductors! Exactly what everyone wants. Lol Use of that type are NOT best practice, especially for sensitive applications. They are the cheap and easy way out for those out for the fastest money without regard for best performance. Just sayin'.

[@paulhadley2007]

Fantastic, superb, spot on. I have been using RJ45s for years but the amount of times I have got one core swap as I push them in is so frustrating, especially on full length runs. This will save so much time overall on large jobs. All that walking backwards and forwards. Watched your video ordered ends and crimps straight away. Can’t wait to try these out.

[@CJ-M43]

People complaining about the music, but I found it helped me focus and chill while watching. Great instructional video!

[@rpan5441]

Not only was very well explained, but the precise use of words made a lot of sense in understanding. Two thumbs up. 👍👍

[@mattr4886]

Great job...convinced me to just buy them with the ends already installed. : - )

[@ecosmos3368]

:-) yes, until one day you`ll need to run a cable through an opening which the connector won`t fit...

[@karrotop]

@@ecosmos3368 that's what drills are for :D

[@markoer]

Kelly Larsen sometimes you need to cut for measure, anyway.

[@James_Knott]

@@ecosmos3368 If it doesn't fit, use a bigger hammer. ;-) Actually, if you're running cable for a permanent installation, don't use plugs at all. Use a socket and patch cords. I do that even when running cable to an access point mounted on a drop ceiling. Also, plugs were originally intended for use on stranded cables, as used in patch cords. The plugs that work with solid wire only came about because people insisted on using plugs on solid when they shouldn't. Using a 110 punch is much easier than trying to put on a plug, while on top of a ladder.

[@ecosmos3368]

@@karrotop i could understand that, as long as it is through a wall, what happens when you have to use a draw wire though tiny electrical conducts, walls and all sort of small spaces?? i could ask @James Knott the same question:-)

[@DannyOvox3]

Best manually made cable I’ve seen

[@tonysolar284]

I've seen better.

[@XenonIPC]

@@tonysolar284 so give us the link

[@privatebubba8876]

@@XenonIPC by using the proper connector makes it better.

[@ForWhhY]

Not the best but the longest...

[@kenhuffmanjr9919]

@@privatebubba8876 what was improper about that connector?

[@StanKrute]

Echoing everyone else: FANTASTIC video. Thanks so much. Hard to find anything else coming close to this level of clarity and correctness. Thanks SO much for putting this together.

[@AngieDurbinCreates]

@stankrute thanks for the comment! Seems like you must have some experience with AV equipment, so I appreciate the positive feedback. Cheers!

[@alant5757]

For sure one of the BETTER videos .... clear presentation.

[@philipperostin]

I am either very lucky or very good, my first cat6A cable (15 meters, underground and façade run) with 2 brand new self installed rj45 shielded plugs, worked right away without any tester !

[@pikaskew]

Thanks for this video! The attention to detail on each step involved convinced me to buy a pre-terminated cable.

[@lowcountryhdrider7644]

Thanks for an excellent presentation!

[@SubdolphinX]

Nicely done. A lot of good technique demonstrated, with clear narratives.

[@toufiky7729]

Thanks, Clear and simple practice

[@MCRoadk1ll]

Thank you for this video, it helped me to make a proper connection with shielding. I immediately went up in speed. Shielded vs. Non shielded.

[@DutchAussieProductions]

Thanks for a very clear instructional video.

[@derekthwaytes4689]

very clear description on what to do to make good joints up.

[@Garth2011]

Great job ! Wiring up a building or small business office with 100+ computer stations must take weeks at this rate per RJ45.

[@JimProng]

I don't do this stuff professionally, just for me, family & friends, so thanks for a great video. When it comes to preparing the conductors there are no shortcuts are there, just untwist and take the kinks out. I had to throw my crimper last week after spending a couple of hours wondering why I couldn't get a bit of kit to work. I've now invested on an RJ45 tester. Much easier than a multimeter and a couple of sockets!

[@MatthewHolevinski]

as a lifer, never, never do this stuff professionally, trust me.

[@NickC-IT]

@@MatthewHolevinski Worst than working at McDonalds?

[@alittax]

@@MatthewHolevinski Lifer? You're serving a life sentence? Or doing this for a living feels like serving a life sentence?

[@smbrown]

After arranging pairs, cut the excess diagonally across the pairs, makes loading wires into load bar MUCH easier.

[@joewell6435]

Thank you so much, that part takes me way to long, I'll try this next time

[@jucaguima]

Very professional! Excellent job!

[@MrJohnboyofsj]

This has explained to me why it was so frustrating trying to terminate a shielded grade cable into a regular RJ45 connector end. It was nearly impossible to get them to line up side by side inside the connector it definitely needed the load bar, it was not the right fit conductors for regular cat6 ends.

[@AngieDurbinCreates]

@John Pythagoras thank you so much for the feedback. We're SO happy that the video helped you out!

[@toddstawicki2991]

Just a top notch video. Thanks so much.

[@lawmanlawreaper]

As a Open Reg cable installer in Australia try this 1000 times in one day :)

[@callitagain]

Haha I hear ya. Then try doing it for a week straight.

[@lawmanlawreaper]

@@callitagain No thank you my nails will not hold up unless there is a beer break every hour :)

[@mabbaticchio]

I hope whoever uses this method is paid by the hour.

[@JakesMusicPalace]

Used Liberty for years, the company is very solid, with great product and tools make sure to check the bandwidth of the cable used usually written on the cable spool. I use a pro cable tester as another verification and slightly flex the cable near the ends for weak crimp areas while on the tester. The crimping tool especially the blades have a definite shorter life expectancy that you might think, replace blades frequently and the tool yearly if used daily. Copper tape rocks and will pass consultant spec in AV and Network wiring. Sure beats soldering shield to strain relief

[@sonicperformance]

Use a small screw driver, place the round shaft of the screw driver at the base of the conductor and pull upwards at a 45 degree angel, this will perfectly straighten the conductor, you can do two, the pair, at a time. Super easy to load now.

[@lawnchair76]

When straightening the conductors you can use a bic pen (round type) and put the conductors between your thumb and the pen and it will cut this time by 75%. And save your fingers especially if you make a lot of these connections.

[@AngieDurbinCreates]

@Jason Galvan great tip, thanks for sharing!

[@mowcowbell]

Thanks Jason! After building a dozen or so RJ45 connections, my fingers are killing me. Your tip should help a LOT!

[@StanKrute]

Yep. I wondered why this technique wasn't used in the video.

[@Tyriama]

Nice walkthrough!. Gonna take a shot at this at work to get rid of some dodgy WiFi extender nonsense.

[@MarcGyverIt]

Yeah, that's not gonna help at all.

[@kenhuffmanjr9919]

@@MarcGyverIt Making and running cables could help eliminate the need to use wifi extenders. Not sure what you mean here.

[@mykeeX13]

Great tutorial.. well done...

[@estradacantu]

Thanks, simply the best explanation

[@nicmon5214]

Great vid, thanks.

[@tihzho]

Great video!!

[@CCAPACCO]

omg walter white made its way to it engineering... so watched entire tut with eyes wide open.

[@anilratnani7056]

Very intuitive for sure.

[@toddgreenwood1510]

If you have a lot of these to sintall, it might be more expensive but will save a ton of time to have already booted and terminated cables.

[@dethscorpion16]

That’s very amazing. Plus it increases knowledge into Networking

[@wilsonnadajimmy940]

Thank you. Very helpful

[@eldphm]

Best Steven Seagal movie I have seen in over a decade , also, he looks much healthier now

[@kenhuffmanjr9919]

LOL yep

[@dan8250]

Great video, but I have a question about the shielding. I see some sources saying to fold the foil back on the jacket and crimp that under the housing, and other sources (like this video) say to strip the foil entirely and use just the drain wire. Is there an appreciable difference between the two methods?

[@lancerudy9934]

Great video thanks keep the videos coming

[@sptrader6316]

Heat shrink on the RJ45 connector is an excellent idea even for Cat5e cable, reduces wire strain.

[@slicedpage]

sptrader and covers up screw-ups:)

[@privatebubba8876]

No it doesn't.

[@MarcGyverIt]

Complete waste of time and money

[@Dextermorga]

This is art.

[@curtisyue182]

I feel like a caveman compared to this guy. In my line of work they expect you to go fast. You will have a very sad/angry foreman if you spend 11 minutes on one RJ45. So im banging these out in like 1-2 min. Meanwhile this man is like "and now lets put a happy little piece of copper tape on our work of art :)" Great video, im gonna have to take notes👍

[@AngieDurbinCreates]

Totally get where you are coming from! This is not the way to perform high-speed installations with strict time limits for sure. What it is though, is a slowed down step-by-step explanation by one of the best in the business (Ralph) to explain and demonstrate the intricacies of terminating cat cables on-the-fly. And with your reference to Bob Ross, I kinda want to see if I can take a ton of twisted pairs and turn them into happy trees in a miniature landscape setting. :)

[@curtisyue182]

@@AngieDurbinCreates Absolutely. One thing I did take away from this video and started doing, is to hold the crimper for a few seconds. Usually we just crimp and immediately let go.

[@mahmoudbayoumy75]

master piece😍 but u forgot one thing , to bend the cable catcher

[@aalbalawi3300]

superb , thanks

[@jesushippie6849]

Very good video, good info and right to the point, excellent work

[@AngieDurbinCreates]

Thanks Jesus, I appreciate the comment!

[@cris-------1946]

just put it on my fav videos ! ty

[@lizexcelcyber963]

Wow, what a wonderful

[@LallyWanker]

Good quality vid, thanks.

[@stuntz0rZ]

Nice video. the heat gun shrink tubing is easier than i thought.

[@CupidFromKentucky]

That is a nice looking cable.

[@surenkhadgi3014]

very very clean connection seen ever loved it

[@mohamedsaeeddadabhai7571]

Thank you very much sir

[@ericknaus4998]

Thanks for the good video. I was hoping to see how the other end of the cable is terminated at the patch panel - especially the grounding part. Any recommendations?

[@MrTube127]

Excellent presentation. Very detailed.

[@JohnnyLawBMC]

Great info, Thankyou for sharing

[@AngieDurbinCreates]

Glad it was helpful!

[@Nighthawk_dale]

GREAT VIDEO!

[@AngieDurbinCreates]

@Scott Shylock thanks, appreciate it!

[@pranayghosal007]

Wow best presentation I had ever seen!!

[@AngieDurbinCreates]

Much appreciated @Pranay Ghosal!

[@milansobocz8684]

thank you, sir.

[@Petros_DT]

Very good job sir 👍👌

[@asadulhuq]

Excellent and neat presentation.

[@AngieDurbinCreates]

Thanks @A.H.M. Asadul Huq, appreciate that!

[@rickydeldo8596]

Very well explained. You can see he is telling from exp. instead reading a script.

[@AngieDurbinCreates]

Thanks @Ricky Deldo, you are right! Ralph is very experienced and speaks from his years of being in the Pro AV industry. For me as the videographer and editor, he made my job much easier. :)

[@jsc3417]

for POE security camera, use 568B is preferred, although the POE camera system will automatically determined and adjust for either 568A or 568B

[@TriptyX]

I only know of Russia using A standard. Everything else I've seen has been on B standard

[@ivvilel8220]

@@TriptyX yeah 568A was the standard for many many years, I have gone to many of places that we just went there to drop a cable or two, and found all of their shit was A code, and standard patch cables are B code, so we sold them on re-doing all of their keystones. Most switches nowadays can adjust for the swapping, but it just makes the switches work harder, and brings in some latency issues.

[@emadmodeye8207]

excellent thank you

[@dimensional7915]

sorta wish I found this before I ran two cat6a cables to my room and finished up 2 other additional runs of cat6 that I have been meaning to terminate for a while now. But I guess I now know better for the future

[@VideoNOLA]

4:00 Same time on the "conductor straightening" phase by untwisting the color pairs as a twosome, instead of first unbraiding the white+color wires and having to unkink them individually.

[@deathvaps]

Thanks

[@BobBeatski71]

Nice.

[@rmaverick4510]

Thanks Paul Carrack!

[@pobertubbesing]

solid

[@richie_official5886]

Thanks for helping me

[@AngieDurbinCreates]

Hi @jettlife_gad, thanks for the note and glad that this helped you!

[@jaredbaglietto7429]

A question, I purchased Cat 6 RJ45 connectors that look EXACTLY the same as the one in this video. However, none of them came with load bars! I've been getting frustrated wondering why this was so hard compared to cat 5e connectors. Are load bars supposed to be sold separately? Feels stupid and unnecessary not including them. Thanks for the video by the way.

[@codenamecred]

great video, is there enough air flow on your heat gun standing on rear vents.

[@Nevexo287]

There must be, it was designed with a stand to make it sit like that.

[@jacobdavis000]

No. There's no air flow. He likes it that way. lol

[@Zeftax]

My connectors came without the plastic guide piece, hopefully I will be able to do this! First time doing shielded cabling and I already messed up one connector, so I looked up this guide! Seems promising. Hopefully I will get at least two functional M-M patch cables so that I can test all the F-F connections I have already made (The keystones I bought are self-crimping, so I hope I didn't manage to somehow mess even that up... :D

[@daz4312]

Been doing telecom cabling for 21 years and never heard of 3/10ths of an inch... T-568A terminations are also used in some military applications... Most of the world uses T-568B. And then there are the fun patch cords that have one end which is the reverse of the other end... Not sure what we used them for, connecting some pieces of equipment in the MDF at the site where I worked, but my boss had to make them sometimes, and he hated trying to remember the order backwards...

[@MrYankosG]

In cases where copper tape with conductive adhesive is not readily available, is it OK if we were to use aluminum foil cut to size instead?

[@Leo-kz9tm]

Your straight through patch cable that you would use to connect computers and various other devices to a switch or router will use the 568b standard while it really doesnt matter since on both standards the main pins are in the same spots just with a different color. Ive used a cross over 568B and 568A cable only when connecting 2 switches that dont have auto mdi-x.

[@giornikitop5373]

very good and detailed explaination but the problem is time. making a few like 4-5 is ok but try to do this a few tens of times (done it) and your fingers will be useless, due to cores being much harder than cat5. i believe cat6 cables were never meant to be crimped in rj45 plugs but to be patched. eitherway nice and informative video overall.

[@Isax099]

I am new to this shielded type of cable and its drain wire. It seems a stupid question, but I will ask anyway: Is it okay if I use cable boots to protect the cable and RJ45 connector? Would it diminish the purpose/functionality of the drain wire?

[@VideoNOLA]

For the ruler-challenged, 3/10" equates to 7.6mm on the metric scale.

[@SubdolphinX]

And .300"

[@cosmos260]

Still completed. The rj45 connector in my country is plastic only, or shielded without tail.

[@HenriqueAraujo174]

Pretty good if you have the correct tools, most IT guys work with cheap and with lack of proper tools for the job, no wonder a lot of the cables failure over time, most of the clients also doesn't care as long as it works

[@smaraggi]

STP should be grounded. Does this termination imply that the grounding of the shielding of the cable is achieved by the contact of the connector body to the chasis? Thank you!

[@davidabner8885]

I have a better method of untwisting the pairs at 4:00. You bend the end of the pair over itself then twist both conductors of the pair counter clockwise together. This straightens the conductors at the same time and makes them very easy to deal with

[@davidabner8885]

I should say counter twist rather than counter clockwise, because I guess it depends on which side of the cable you are doing

[@callitagain]

Wouldn't bending the pair over itself cause work hardening of the copper?

[@davidabner8885]

@@callitagain I'll have to make a video so you can see it. The part you bend over gets cut off. It gives you something to grab and untwist

[@callitagain]

@@davidabner8885 I'd love to see it please. Could save me hours or even days on some of my larger jobs.

[@davidabner8885]

@@callitagain kzbin.info/www/bejne/i4WqdKl4eN9-mrM

[@Arleon46]

What a great video and a great presenter! I have one question, though: how to prevent the plastic locking mechanism on top of the plug to break when in use? I have had some trouble with this previously on cat 5 installations - but what about cat 6 when installing plugs myself?

[@MrHeHim]

I push the load bar to the tip of the wire after pulling it back and cutting the excess wire. For me that insures smooth insertion into the connector every time Also, I don't think I've seen 568A used in anything in general in the last 10 years as RJ11/phone lines don't even get installed in homes anymore. And most "LAN lines" are now just IP Phones.

[@mowcowbell]

Agreed, I haven't seen anything but 568B pairing used in anything I've worked on in the past 10 years.

[@ujjwalmaurya6161]

What is the size of shrink tube?

[@l111vy7]

One detail missed is the order of cables 568B or 568A. Easy to find and people will know anyway, but this is headed "Detailed tutorial".

[@jlaroche0]

568B: Orange-white, Orange, Green-white, Blue, Blue-white, Green, Brown-white, Brown. Note: I've been up to my eyeballs in cabling for the past few weeks ;)

[@l111vy7]

@@jlaroche0doing a great job 👍

[@dalenassar9152]

What diameter is that 3:1 shrink cable? GREAT VIDEO!!

[@AngieDurbinCreates]

Thanks for the comment @dale nassar! I believe the diameter of the heat shrink tubing is 1/2" before it is heated and shrunk around the cable and connector.

[@fidaullahabiiid3360]

So nyc

[@brandondoty9887]

What size of heat shrink tubing is required to fit over the RJ-45 connector?

[@AngieDurbinCreates]

Hi @Brandon Doty, thanks for your question! The heat shrink size is 3:1. The kit shown in the video comes with 25 pre-cut pieces of it. Here is a link to their site which has an updated video of the termination process: secure.libertycable.com/product_details.php?pitem=RJ45-STP-L6

[@fckinnonstick9919]

Great video. But I installed my Ethernet cable and I cut the drain wires. I speed test the connections but it seems fine and so far I didn't encounter any problems. Is that necessary?

[@fckinnonstick9919]

@@AngieDurbinCreates Yikes! I should rebuild my ethernet connections. I am dumb that didn't see this video first before my actual work. Btw thanks for the info. :)

[@MarcGyverIt]

@@AngieDurbinCreates lol Never even HEARD of anyone having that problem, until now. If you can destroy any switch at all with a mere termination, you've got bigger problems than static electricity lol